Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory Music Studio

Resonance of Design

Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (SHCP), a premier San Francisco high school well-regarded for its excellent performing arts curriculum, had long needed a professional-level choral rehearsal studio and recording facility. Inspired by the shapes of musical scores, INTERSTICE was asked to renovate a 2,300-square-foot space to create a four-studio suite of specialized rooms in order to enhance the school’s recently completed Sister Caroline Collins, DC, Theater. From the new main choral rehearsal room, three associated rooms are attached: a recording studio control room, a smaller practice room for instrumental ensembles, and a single-artist voice recording booth. These separate studio rooms were designed to be used in conjunction with, or in isolation from, the larger choral rehearsal space and all are connected fiber optically as a choral green room to the larger theater. The overall look and feel of the rooms are intentionally warm and instrument-like, with a resonance and level of touch to accommodate an atmosphere of comfort, creative energy, and visual movement.

Theater Classroom

A large new choral rehearsal room—designed as a multipurpose theater classroom with retractable curved seating for gatherings to seat up to 120 spectators—was the largest space of the four-room suite that INTERSTICE designed. The finely tuned acoustical layout of this space is protected behind the clear, straight-grain cedar flats and pre-curved wood slats to create a more reflective and dispersive “wetter” environment to sound. Coffered concrete ceilings are exposed, taking advantage of the deep dispersal texture with absorption in the upper recessed slab areas. The windows have motorized roll shades for lighting, glare control, and acoustical absorption, including blackout control for performances or private receptions, with additional acoustical shades acting as projection screens in a classroom setting. Around the space, mounted choral white boards further extend the nature of the room’s flexibility for various creative and instructional uses.

Acoustic Ribbon

Both the main choral room and the Sister Caroline Collins, DC, Theater spaces had to work in concert together with ongoing performances. INSTERSTICE abstracted a musical score as a ribboning of spaced wood slats that undulate and weave to stretch around the entire space, balancing it acoustically, primarily for voice. Mirroring the walls, the studio’s seating structure is retractable, curved, and tiered so it can be used as a classroom or a choral performance space. Alternatively, without seats, the room can become an impromptu small gathering, an open dance rehearsal, or an event space for this campus.